One of the problems with debates about voting laws is that many Democratic politicians and progressive commentators simply refuse to admit the premises of their own arguments. Their slogans are seductively easy: Government should never do anything to make it harder to cast more votes, and always do everything to make it easier to cast more votes. The trouble arises when you apply that logic blindly and reflexively to the real world: It means opposing the very existence of laws and rules governing registration and voting.
Laws, after all, make it harder to do almost anything — even when “harder” means that the process overall is easier because government imposes order, but requires citizens to take some affirmative steps to learn the rules and comply with them. Is it “harder” to drive because you have to obey red lights and traffic signs? Yes, because you are not free to do whatever you want; no, because the roads work better for everyone as a result. Conservatives believe that we should, in general, have fewer laws, but not no laws: We recognize that having some laws is necessary for order, and order is necessary for the exercise of a citizen’s liberty.
Comments